Detection Technologies for Reactive Oxygen Species: Fluorescence and Electrochemical Methods and Their Applications

Abstract

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been found in plants, mammals, and natural environmental processes. The presence of ROS in mammals has been linked to the development of severe diseases, such as diabetes, cancer, tumors, and several neurodegenerative conditions. The most common ROS involved in human health are superoxide (O2•−), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and hydroxyl radicals (•OH). Organic and inorganic molecules have been integrated with various methods to detect and monitor ROS for understanding the effect of their presence and concentration on diseases caused by oxidative stress. Among several techniques, fluorescence and electrochemical methods have been recently developed and employed for the detection of ROS. This literature review intends to critically discuss the development of these techniques to date, as well as their application for in vitro and in vivo ROS detection regarding free-radical-related diseases. Moreover, important insights into and further steps for using fluorescence and electrochemical methods in the detection of ROS are presented.

Addressing the Selectivity of Enzyme Biosensors: Solutions and Perspectives

“…Superoxide dissociates fast in aqueous solutions, with a half-life lower than 50 milliseconds, depending on the composition of the surrounding medium and has a high diffusion rate. [ 158 ] Moreover, its intracellular concentration in the human body covers a wide range, rising from the normal levels of 10–100 nM up to 0.1 mM during extreme oxidative stress or in severe diseases [ 159 ].…”

“…Being a primary ROS, O 2 •− is as a biologically relevant target in tests aiming at the evaluation of the antioxidant, radical scavenging effect of individual compounds, food or beverages. The detection of superoxide radical can be accomplished by various methods including electron spin resonance, high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass–spectrometry, optical (mainly spectrophotometry and fluorescence) and electrochemical procedures [ 1 , 159 ].…”

Live Cell Assays for the Assessment of Antioxidant Activities of Plant Extracts

“…Among the numerous live cell tests (mostly related to the measurement of homeostasis loss and cytotoxicity) recently surveyed for the industry and academia, very few are dedicated to antioxidant analysis [24]. Electrochemical techniques have been recently set up for measuring superoxide, H 2 O 2 , and hydroxyl radical in cell systems but essen-tially as methods to help disease diagnostics, as recently reviewed [33]. Electrochemical biosensors were also used to evaluate cell or culture medium content of antioxidants such as glutathione, ascorbic acid, and uric acid [34]; however, to the best of our knowledge, none of these electrochemical techniques have been used as a basis for antioxidant effect detection.…”

Supersensitive CeOx-based nanocomposite sensor for the electrochemical detection of hydroxyl free radicals

“…The use of electrochemical techniques posseses several advantages over other methods, as the sensitivity and selectivity can be easily controlled by modifying the sensing element on the surface of the electrode. 24,25 Morever, the electrochemical techniques can provide a real-time detection, which is especially important when monitoring species with short lifetime. 26 Inspired by previous findings, this study reports the use of ultrasmall cerium oxide nanoclusters as the sensing element for the development of a highly sensitive and selective electrochemical sensor for • OH detection.…”